The Full Monty is the publication that exposes you to the business intelligence that matters at the top of every week. Please sign up for our email updates to make sure you don't miss a thing. And please share this with your colleagues if you find it valuable.

Google releases the hounds; a Chewbacca mask makes the Internet collectively crack up; a new look for the AMA; why it's hard to get a company to act as one; the Keystone Cops of Facebook video; the strengths marketing leaders are looking for; the editorial bias is with humans, not institutions; Twitter directors need to tweet; Yahoo isn't all that; a comprehensive Pew Research study on the collaborative economy; putting hosts to work as Airbnb lobbyists; jobs that robots won't do well; engagement alone is not a strategy; VR for storytelling; the effectiveness (?) of influencer marketing; looking at the Facebook feed as a liberal and as a conservative; our weekly trivia challenge, podcast pick, an event discount and more.

If you're around at 9:30 pm ET on Sunday evenings, you can get a preview of a couple of topics from the week's via the live video on Facebook. If not, you can always catch the replay here:

Industry

The American Marketing Association (AMA) unveiled its new brand identity and logo that reflects both the transformation of the organization and its vision for the future. Since 1937, the AMA has been the pre-eminent force in marketing for thought leadership and valued relationships across the entire marketing community. Disclosure: I serve on the board of directors of the AMA.

Related fact: over 85% of Facebook videos are viewed without sound. Create your video content accordingly. It's strange, isn't it? "Moving pictures" began with silent movies. And we're right back where we started. It requires a different kind of thinking to execute effectively.

It's time to redefine employee engagement for 2016: annual survey data isn't timely, it's highly subjective, and more than a handful of executives need to be involved.

The challenge of the business side of public relations includes operating without a business plan, organized chaos, constantly changing technology, and a difficulty with measurement. Tune in to hear more (or read the transcript) of this fascinating conversation between Chip Griffin and Gini Dietrich.

In "a desperation to be relevant on mobile," brands have been creating their own emoji keyboards — some 250 have been made by brands so far. And while certainly popular and easy to make, there’s no evidence that they’re really working. Why? Likely because people speak your own language, not the brand language that you foist on them.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron is on Tinder, hoping to get lucky. Not in love, but with votes from a younger demographic. Swipe right for conservatives, swipe left for liberals.

Digital marketing – including social media – is the skill that the greatest share of CMOs believe is most important to their marketing team’s success today, per results from a recent Spencer Stuart survey of 150 marketing leaders. They also said that data analytics and insight skills, along with strategic thinking, are among the most difficult to find when recruiting.

Sponsor — Agency Management Institute

Get the scoop on what 500 marketers (budgets up to $10 million) believe and how those beliefs influence their behaviors when it comes to hiring and firing agencies just like yours.

Platforms

But if you want the top 10, here they are, according to The Verge. We'll outline a few below as well, but right now, it's Google vs. Everybody — Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Samsung, etc.

Facebook and Samsung now have some competition in the virtual reality space, with Google Daydream, a mobile phone-compatible VR device that is slated to work with any kind of smartphone that runs with Android N operating system (not just a Samsung) — plus headset manufacturers may use Daydream to create their own compatible headsets. Prediction: this is the technology that will open up VR to the masses.

There's also Google Assistant, which we'll cover below in the Bot section of our newsletter.

And Allo is a messaging app, with Google's search function built right in. The reason for video chat separate from messaging? To keep the apps lightweight and differentiate from the others. Not sure that people will want additional apps; time will tell how functional Google makes them.

Google Home is an always-listening small speaker that will compete with Amazon Echo coming out later this year. No, it's not creepy that in addition to owning your browsing and searching habits, your email and your online storage, Google will now have access to everything you say in your home. Not creepy at all.

Most major social media platforms have, in recent years, amassed editorial teams of their own, groups that select, tame and fill gaps in the material produced by users and media companies. In essence, social media platforms are the new entertainment and news curators. More reason than ever to be careful of your sources and understand that not everything is automated.

Hossein Derakhshan is a former blogger who was imprisoned in Iran from 2008-2014. He missed the entire rise of Facebook during that time and has had a rude awakening as to what the internet has become since then: he says it is "heart-breaking to see how Facebook has changed the internet into little more than a portal for entertainment" as the notion of web links becomes outdated. So much for "a more open and connected world."

Twitter's board of directors has a diversity problem. No, it's not about race nor is it about gender. You see, six of the 11 board members have tweeted less than 800 times (including four who have tweeted less than 150 times). If you're trying to turn a company around, it might be a good idea to have a board that actually uses the product.

Here we go again. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter all implemented an algorithm for their feeds. Snapchat is next. If history is any guide, expect widespread complaining for a few weeks, followed by a muted acceptance.

Collaborative / Autonomous Economy

The sharing economy and on-demand services are weaving their way into the lives of (some) Americans, raising difficult issues around jobs, regulation and the potential emergence of a new digital divide. A new and comprehensive Pew Research survey finds that the usage of these platforms varies widely across the population.

Alphabet is unveiling a ride-sharing app that will enable commuters in San Francisco area to hitch rides with users of Waze. The company has effectively cut ties with Uber and established itself as a competitor.

Uber has a new Trip Tracker feature that will let you track the whereabouts of family members that are using Uber. A nice convenience and safety feature. But will it work in Target bathrooms? And can we get it to integrate with Google Home, to tell your family when you're home?

But the question remains: does all of this competition in cloud-based big data intelligence mean that Apple is in danger of being marginalized like RIM was with Blackberry when the iPhone came along? It's worth considering when Apple's services arm is considered one of its weakest (see next section on Apple Music).

Have you ever stopped to consider what jobs might not be outsourceable to robots? I asked my Facebook community and here's what they said:

Pretty much everyone agrees that Apple knows how to design great hardware, including the iPhone. But did you ever stop to wonder why Apple Music is so bad?

Program of the Week. This week's recommendation is Good Job Brain, a program that's part quiz show, part offbeat news. Do you have a program to recommend? Add yours to our Google Sheet: smonty.co/yourpodcasts

We can all agree that social listening is widely accepted as a business practice (at least we hope it is by now). As Stephen Covey once said, "Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply." But what should brands be listening for? It depends on how mature they are.

* Answer to the trivia question above:

According to YodasDataPad.com, Chewbacca the legendary Wookie warrior is 200 years old in Episode IV: A New Hope

When You Have the Time: Essential Watching / Listening / Reading

A very cool interactive graphic from the Wall Street Journal takes a look at a Facebook feed through the eyes of a liberal and through a conservative: Blue Feed, Red Feed.

Post a Comment

Welcome

Scott Monty is a neoclassical digital executive. As a keynote speaker, advisor and recovering Fortune 10 executive, he gives talks to companies and industry organizations about the need to relentlessly focus on the customer. He uses his knowledge of historic literature, philosophy and poetry, together with his ability to trend-spot to show audiences that the key to our future is in understanding timeless wisdom about human nature.